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In-company trainers as key drivers of quality 83

7.3. Expanding roles and changing competences
for trainers in companies

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According to a recent study carried out by the Cedefop TTnet network ( ),
trainers’ responsibilities are broadening; they may include training needs
analysis, guidance and counselling, quality assurance and networking with a
broad range of private and public institutions, to different degrees depending
on the country and enterprise size.

‘From the perspective of organisational development, trainers’ familiarity with modern
approaches to learning methods and didactics offer them a possible role of ‘change agents’
within the companies’ innovation processes. All this points to the crucial need for continuing
training giving the trainers the needed competences to solve the challenges at hand and meet
the demands from the company, the industry, and local labour markets. Nowadays, the trainer
has an increasingly personal tutoring role with guidance, support and counselling functions.
This attaches great importance to the pedagogical skills of the trainer. As such, it seems quite
alarming that only a few trainers have a pedagogical knowledge to plan alternative educational
approaches and use pedagogical tools to support the learner’ (Volmari et al., 2009, p. 34).

Particular challenges are the individualisation of learning, empowering
and motivating learners, and addressing specific needs, expectations and
circumstances. Trainers may have to support different stages of careers: coaching
young adults at the start of their professional lives, training mid-career employees
who need to update or expand their competences, upskilling or reskilling older
workers, and even supporting transition into retirement. Meeting the needs of
migrants, older and low-skilled workers require that trainers adjust their training
skills and methods, in terms of social and pedagogical competences to stimulate
learner autonomy, and help them own the assessment and learning process
(OECD, 2008). As the trainers’ role broadens, pedagogical competences become
increasingly important in supporting workplace learning. In less formalised forms
of training, such as on-the-job learning, trainers may help transform the working
organisation into one in which workers can develop their competences further
while undertaking working tasks and learning opportunities embedded in work
processes. Here the trainers’ primary role is not to convey broad vocational
knowledge but to support colleagues and trainees to engage with applied tasks,
and learn within work practice. In more formal forms of training, a different range

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( ) The TTnet is a Pan-European forum for practitioners and policy-makers, dealing with the
training and professional development of VET teachers and trainers. Further information
on the network can be found in: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/about-cedefop/networks/
teachers-and-trainers-network-ttnet/index.aspx [cited 17.12.2010].